


Forethought (or lack thereof)

by godlymoss



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Dissociation, Ford is an idiot, Ford's bad at feelings, Gen, Mystery Trio (except also not), Stan Pines Needs A Hug, Stan is no better, shooting mention, torture mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:01:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23670496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/godlymoss/pseuds/godlymoss
Summary: Godammit Ford. Look what you did, you made him have traumatic flashbacks.
Relationships: Ford Pines & Stan Pines
Comments: 15
Kudos: 137





	Forethought (or lack thereof)

“It couldn’t have been that bad.” 

Stan started at his twin’s words. He’d been staying with Ford for a little over two weeks now, after Stan had found his brother collapsed, barely conscious, in his cabin in the woods. After being dragged up to his bed, after some shouting (and a few thrown fists), and after a bit of persuasion from Stan, Ford explained his predicament. The dream demon, the portal, all of it.

Long story short, they’d worked together to figure out how to fix it, and they did. Unicorn hair, turns out, is great for keeping chaos gods out of your house. Also, unicorns are pricks. They set up the barrier, and Stan got ready to leave. Except… Ford didn’t seem to want that. He’d asked Stan to stay, in fact. Said he wanted to fix things. Stan almost didn’t believe it. He agreed, of course, and things had been… better. There were still awkward moments (like this one), of course, but at least they could talk to each other without descending into screaming, which was progress. 

And here he was now, standing on the porch, putting out a cigarette before he went inside.

  
  


Back on topic, Ford’s statement was unexpected.

“What?” Stan blinked. The hell was he talking about? 

“Back when- when you first got here. When we fought. You said you- that you’d been through things. But they can’t have been that bad. Not worse than having a demon tormenting you for a month.” 

And then he laughed.

Like it was all a joke. 

Not that Stan didn’t agree. Everything Ford had been through before he had arrived was horrifying to think about. 

But for some reason, hearing his brother brush it all off like that…

It made his blood boil. 

Stan clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Things had just started to get better, he was  _ not  _ going to let it fall back to fighting. He took a deep breath. He and his brother needed to talk, but he couldn’t let it escalate into a fight.

He took another breath. 

_ How to phrase this…? _

  
  


"...You ever been shot?"

It was Ford's turn to start.

"No..? Have you??"

"Twelve times. Thirteen if you count the time with the t-shirt cannon."

"Wh-  _ twelve?? _ " Stanford stared at his brother in disbelief. "When did-"

"You ever been waterboarded?"

"...what? I don't- I'm sorry, I don't know what that is?"

"It's torture.  _ Literally. _ They put a cloth on your face and dump water on your head so you feel like you're drowning. It-" 

He remembered the feeling. He couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't _ \- -no-nononononoSTOP-can'tbreathestopnonononoLET ME OUT- _

"...It sucks."

Ford was staring at him now, eyes wide and expression concerned. 

"...Stanley…"

Stan avoided his eyes. 

"Ever-" He nearly choked on his words at this one. "...Ever been branded?" 

A sharp intake of breath from Ford. He'd known about that one. 

Stan absentmindedly rubbed at his shoulder. 

He still remembered the burn.

His brother's boot pressed against his chest. A scream that felt like it wasn't his, though common sense said it was. His twin frantically apologizing. 

His shoulder burned, but the rest of him felt ice cold. He felt… detached. Like it was all happening to someone else, and he was just watching. He still felt like that, sometimes.

Stan turned slowly to his twin. He looked Ford right in the eyes. 

"But it wasn't  _ that  _ bad."

And he went inside, leaving his brother alone with his thoughts.

  
  
  
  
  


  
  



End file.
